ERBIL - Iraqi powerful Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has called for the cancellation of the security agreement between Iraq and the US and the closure of the country's embassy.

Sadr argued on Sunday that a parliamentary resolution to end the presence of the foreign forces in Iraq was not enough and that it was a weak response to US' "violations" on Iraq's sovereignty, calling on local and foreign militia groups to come together against the US.

"I consider this a weak response insufficient against the American violation of Iraqi sovereignty and regional escalation,” Sadr, who leads the largest bloc in the parliament, said in a letter to the assembly read out by a supporter, as quoted by Reuters.

The Shia cleric said that Iraq must cancel its security agreement with the US and that it also must close down the country's embassy in Baghdad.

"Finally, I call specifically on the Iraqi resistance groups and the groups outside Iraq more generally to meet immediately and announce the formation of the International Resistance Legions," he added.

Iraqi Parliament has already approved a draft bill to oust the US and other foreign troops from Iraq.

The Council of Representatives is set to vote on the bill on Saturday, January 11.

BasNews